Ameenpur Pedda Cheruvu: Land owners complain of submerged plots to HYDRAA chief

The lake's weir and sluice were closed for various reasons by irrigation officials a few years ago, the landholders complained that the water spread area increased to 460 acres by submerging thousands of plots

Sangareddy: Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath on Tuesday inspected the Ameenpur Pedda Cheruvu following a request from land and plot holders who complained that their plots were submerged by the lake.

The landholders alleged that the water of Ameenpur Cheruvu spread over 460 acres against its official full tank level of 93.15 acres.

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Since the lake’s weir and sluice were closed for various reasons by irrigation officials a few years ago, the landholders complained that the water spread area increased to 460 acres by submerging thousands of plots.

They said drainage water was being released into the water body, keeping the water level intact around the year. They said the release of the drainage water had also polluted the water body.

After talking to irrigation, revenue, municipal and other department officials while examining the boundaries, Ranganath assured that he would soon organise a meeting with officials to find out the truth. The plot owners, who formed a joint action committee, have been organising protests demanding justice for them.

One of the plot owners, Satyanarayana, said 5,000 plots in 20 layouts were submerged. He said the layouts were permitted by HMDA in the 1980s and 1990s. The plot owners urged Ranganath to direct irrigation officials to keep the water level to 93 acres so that they could use their lands.

Ameenpur Lake was declared a bio-diversity site by the State government. It is home to more than 300 bird species. The lake also attracts a huge number of migrant birds during the winter.